1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a network printing system, a Web server, a printing apparatus and a program which constitutes the above network printing system.
2. Description of Related Art
There exists a printing apparatus having a so-called Web printing function wherein the printing apparatus obtains and prints a desired Web page by automatically accessing a Web server in accordance with preset data that periodically subscribes to the desired Web page. More specifically, U.S. patent application Publication No. US2003/0123079 discloses a printer wherein a user enters, in advance with the printer, a URL of a Web server where HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) data of a desired Web page to be periodically subscribed is located. An access day and time when access is to be made to the URL is stored in advance in the printer. With this presetting in the printer, when the predetermined access day and time are reached, the printer automatically establishes a connection with the Web server, based on the URL, to obtain the desired Web page in order to print the contents of the page on a recording medium.
Conventionally, for example, the settings of peripheral equipment, such as printers and routers, have been performed through a Web browser equipped in a terminal, such as a personal computer (PC). When the settings of the peripheral equipment can be performed as described above, the user can set the peripheral equipment in much the same way the user views a Web page of the Internet. Thus, it is conceivable that the setting of data for automatic printing in a printer could be performed through a Web browser of a PC by connecting the PC to the printer having the above Web printing function.
However, it is burdensome for the user to enter all of the data (e.g., a URL of a Web page and an access day and time) necessary for automatic printing directly into the printing apparatus or through the Web browser of the PC. In particular, when a user who is unskilled in handling a PC and is unaccustomed to inputting data has a facsimile machine having a Web printing function, it is difficult for the user to input necessary data for automatic printing. The user may not be able to fully use the facsimile machine to execute the Web printing function.